The Dive Down

Stan's away — so this week the olds play. Shane and Dave catch up about Shane's perfect Steam Machine, his even more perfect AYN Thor, polo shirts, and four albums that were pretty good. We also give flowers to a true Chicago hero: Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants. Dive Down Nation, your slop bowls are ready. Fall in line for episode 369.

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store

Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN2025 for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com

Get 25% Cashback after 3 months of service with ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:

0:01 - Lettuce entertain you with cilantro

9:43 - This week's episode

15:06 - Old business: Shane "finished" his Steam Machine

27:11 - New business: Shane also bought an AYN Thor

37:31 - Polo shirts

43:28 - Dave brings some albums - Broken Social Scene: Remember the Humans

51:31 - Cut Worms: Transmitter

57:23 - Friko: Something Worth Waiting For

59:36 - Brigitte Calls Me Baby: Irreversible

1:03:41 - Wrapping up

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: [email protected]

On this week's show, the boys play Capcom's latest AAA foray, Pragmata. We talk about father/daughter dynamics in video games, the joys of hacking, and what it means to be a slayer gamer.

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store

Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com

Get 25% Cashback after 3 months of service with ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:

0:01 - Sparking graphic novels

4:01 - This week's episode

6:34 - Dave's old business: cookin' and cubin'

11:55 - Pragmata - the basic setup

26:48 - What this game does well

37:58 - Competence vs. excellence

59:52 - The psychology of gamers

1:05:46 - Public comments: The card(s) that got us into Magic

1:12:04 - Wrapping up

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: [email protected]

On this week's show, Stan offers his closing arguments on Shadow of the Colossus (2018), Shane revisits Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024), then he turns a pile of parts into a working computer, and Stan makes tacos out of fish sticks.

Thank you Aaron for this week's public comments. If you'd like to submit public comments to The Dive Down, become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation at http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store

Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com

Get 25% Cashback after 3 months of service with ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:

0:01 - Oranges, micro-looting, cameras off, vocoders, frogs, and more

11:52 - Dave's gone and Boston memories, the Boston Tea Party

18:05 - Shane picked up some new PS5 games, and a preview for next week

24:20 - Old business: Stan beat Shadow of the Colossus

36:15 - Shane restarted Metaphor: Refantazio

45:10 - YouTube sleepin'

47:40 - New business: Shane made a Steam Machine

54:32 - Public comments: Food we like to make

1:07:38 - Wrapping up

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: [email protected]

On this week's show, Shane visits Columbus, Indiana for some architecture and pizza, Stan takes down some colossi, and Dave remains unphased amid Geese controversy.

We also cover Stan's final review of Resident Evil Requiem and first impressions of Shadow of the Colossus (2018), and some public comments about Apple IIe gaming.

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store

Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com

Get 25% Cashback after 3 months of service with ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:

0:01 - Build a little birdhouse in your soul

4:12 - This week's episode

9:06 - What Stan misses from the UK

13:50 - Does Shane miss Denver?

19:10 - Old business: Stan beat Resident Evil 9

23:52 - Stan revisits Shadow of the Colossus

35:46 - New business: Shane went to Columbus, IN

45:56 - The Geese "scandal" and the authenticity of social media

1:08:00 - Public comments: cool old games

1:12:15 - Wrapping up

Links from this week's episode:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5990474/

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/shadow-of-the-colossus/

https://www.wired.com/story/geese-chaotic-good-marketing-industry-plant/

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: [email protected]

On this week's show, the boys revisit some old Cheesecake Factory business, Dave finally sees the hottest sci fi of 2026, Stan tries AirPods, and everyone goes over their Game Grid!

Become a citizen of The Dive Down Nation!: http://www.patreon.com/thedivedown

Show the world that you're a proud citizen of The Dive Down Nation with some merch from the store: https://www.thedivedown.com/store

Upgrade your gameplay and your gameday with Heavy Play accessories. Use code THEDIVEDOWN for 10% off your first order at https://www.heavyplay.com

Get 25% Cashback after 3 months of service with ManaTraders! https://www.manatraders.com/?medium=thedivedown and use coupon code THEDIVEDOWN

And now receive 8% off your order of paper cards from Nerd Rage Gaming with code DIVE8 at https://www.nerdragegaming.com/

Timestamps:

0:01 - Some things about Cincinnati

5:48 - This week's show

7:08 - Cheesecake Factory, revisited

13:08 - Dave saw Project Hail Mary

15:20 - Competency porn

20:50 - Stan tried Airpods

22:49 - Our video game grids

26:10 - Our Favorite Games

35:39 - The Best Story

44:13 - The Best Antagonist

51:32 - What Needs A Remake?

55:46 - The Best Art Style

59:20 - The Most Interesting Mechanics

1:05:06 - Public Comments - does PC gaming suck?

1:12:25 - Wrapping up

Links from this week's episode:

https://grids.fun/t/about-me-video-games-mf3qh

Our opening music is Nowhere - You Never Knew, and our closing music is Space Blood - Goro? Is That Your Christian Name?

email us: [email protected]